Museikon_1_2017

Reconstructing the Image

Reconstructing the Image of the Old Altar Screen of the Orthodox Church in ‘Maierii Sibiului’ | 103

104 | Ioan Ovidiu Abrudan Fig. 23: Constantin Georgescu (1843-1887?), “Jesus Christ blessing” (1887), icon belonging to the “Long Street” “St. Luke” Church. Credits: The Church Art Collection of the Metropolitan Center in Sibiu. Fig. 24, 25, 26: Painters Teodor and Sava from Făgăraş, the iconostasis of the “Palm Sunday” Church in Avrig (1807). Credits: Ioan Ovidiu Abrudan. Fig. 27, 28: Painters Teodor and Sava from Făgăraş, “Prophet Aaron” and “Melchisedec”, diaconal doors in the “Palm Sunday” Church in Avrig (1807). Credits: Ioan Ovidiu Abrudan. artist’s preoccupation to make them express both the state of holiness and that of total transfiguration. This transition to a spiritualized condition was communicated in the most expressive way through the sophisticated and festive arrangement of the vestments. The rich crinkles seem to have given corporality a new nature. Such a style entitles us to assign them to master Teodor from Făgăraș. A final necessary identification, though perhaps not so difficult, still remained to be done with regards to another icon. This other icon appeared vertically in the photograph, next to the iconostasis. The icon depicted the Saviour, blessing and holding in His left hand a globe, symbol of the universe restored with the price of His sacrifice. While searching in the same collection of the Archdiocese of Sibiu, we found a royal icon strikingly similar to the one just described. Although it cannot be the one and the same icon, as the dimensions of the icon in the photograph are considerably reduced (compared to the dimensions of the surrounding objects), one may still admit that its author could be the same master who painted the icon in the Archdiocese collection. The latter holds the signature of a painter from Poiana Sibiului, Constantin Georgescu (1843-1886).